Home > Encyclopedia of Medicine > Obesity Surgery

Definition

Obesity surgery is an operation that reduces or bypasses the stomach or small intestine so that severely overweight people can achieve significant and permanent weight loss.

Purpose

Obesity surgery, also called bariatric surgery, is performed only on severely overweight people who are more than twice their ideal weight. This level of obesity often is refered to as morbid obesity since it can result in many serious, and potentially deadly, health problems, including hypertenison, Type II diabetes mellitus (non-insulin dependent diabetes), increased risk for coronary disease, increased unexplained heart attack, hyperlipidemia, and a higher prevalence of colon, prostate, endometrial, and,...